Cigarette quencher



Dec. 28, 1965 w. NYC

CIGARETTE QUENCHER Filed Jan. 20, 1964 INVENTOR FIGIO FIG8 WLADIMIR NYC United States Patent 3,225,775 CIGARETTE QUENQHER Wladimir Nye, 3125 U St., Sacramento, Calif. Filed Jan. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 338,783 3 Claims. (Cl. 131256) The invention relates to devices for quenching burning cigarettes and, more particularly, to devices for attachment to ash trays, for example, and which serve to put out burning cigarettes and after quenching to drop the cigarettes into a suitable receptacle.

Numerous kinds of cigarette extinguishers have made their appearance in the market place and in the patent literature, and many have accomplished their purpose in a satisfactory manner. On the other hand, many of the prior art devices, particularly those for use in motor vehicles have been quite complex and expensive.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a cigarette quencher which is relatively simple and economical, yet durable.

It is another object of the invention to provide a cigarette extinguishing device which is readily adaptable to most existing ash trays and receptacles for burning cigarettes.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cigarette quencher which, although small in size, is reliable and which, in addition, owing to its interesting principle of operation, is conducive of use, thus being of help in preventing fires caused by carelessly discarding burning cigarettes from moving vehicles.

It is another object of the invention to provide a generally improved cigarette quencher.

Other objects, together with the foregoing, are attained in the embodiment described in the following description and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view showing the device just as a burning cigarette is inserted in the device;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary transverse section to an enlarged scale on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view comparable to that of FIG. 1 but with the opening partially obscured by the bimetallic tube as it constricts under the influence of the heat of the burning cigarette;

FIG. 4 is a transverse section on the line 44 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view comparable to those of FIGS. 1 and 3 but with the tube in a fully constricted and cigarette gripping position, and with the wire limit stop biased fully outwardly;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section on the line 6-6 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view showing the position of the moving elements after the cigarette is quenched and the bimetallic tube has commenced to cool and approaches a cigarette releasing position, and illustrating how the wire limit stop is still constrained against projecting into the interior of the tube;

FIG. 8 is a transverse section on the line 88 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the device prior to insertion of a cigarette; and,

FIG. 10 is a transverse section on the line 1010 in FIG. 9.

While the cigarette quencher of the invention is susceptible of numerous physical embodiments, depending on the environment and requirements of use, substantial numbers of the herein shown and described embodiment have been made, tested and used, and all have performed in an entirely satisfactory manner.

The cigarette extinguisher of the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 12, preferably comprises a vertically elongated and slit tube 13, or tube-like member, fabricated from bimetallic material.

3,225,775 Patented Dec. 28, 1965 The bimetallic material is appropriately selected from any one of a number of commercially available materials of this nature and is formed into a generally circular cylindrical or tubular, configuration such that under ordinary or ambient atmospheric temperature, the diameter of the tube is slightly greater than the diameter of the customary cigarette (or cigar in the event the device is to be used to quench cigars). The bimetallic material, furthermore, is selected with a view such that under the influence of the heat generated by a burning cigarette, the tube contracts within a few seconds to a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the usual cigarette.

In other words, a glowing cigarette, when inserted in the tube, heats the encompassing tube walls. As the tube heats, the differential in the coeflicient of expansion of the two metals causes the tube to contract into cigarette gripping position. Upon gripping the cigarette, the tube Walls, being metallic, rapidly conduct heat away from the burning cigarette, so rapidly, in fact, that the fire is extinguished.

After the cigarette is quenched, the bimetallic tube quickly loses its heat to the surrounding atmosphere and, upon cooling, the tube expands, soon reaches a diameter slightly larger than the cigarette, and thus releases the cigarette, allowing it to fall downwardly, out of the tube and into any suitable receptacle (not shown). The two edge portions, i.e. the innermost edge portion 15 and the outermost edge portion 16, of the vertical slit overlap somewhat (see FIG. 10) and the outermost edge portion 16 is secured to the adjacent inner edge portion 17 of a vertical framework or strip 18, the strip 18 being preferably formed from a highly conductive material, such as copper.

An opening 21 is provided in the strip 18, and in register with the strip opening 21 is an aperture 22 in the outermost or overlapping portion of the bimetallic tube memher.

For convenience in guiding the cigarette as it is inserted in the tube, a conical mouth 26 is provided on the upper end of the vertical strip 18, or framework. Frequently, a fastening bracket 25 is secured to the cone to enable the device to be attached to a tray or receptacle (not shown).

As appears most clearly in FIGS. 9 and 10, the interior of the tube 13 is substantially circular under ordinary conditions, the tube has a diameter slightly in excess of the diameter of a cigarette and is therefore freely capable of accepting a cigarette inserted or dropped, burning end down, into the tube.

The cigarette is prevented from dropping clear through the tube owing to the presence of a limit stop or feeler wire 28 projecting into the interior of the tube through the opening 21 in the strip and the registering aperture 22 in the outer overlapping portion 16 of the tube.

The feeler 28 is biased radially inwardly into the tube by reason of a helical spring 31 secured, for example, to the cone mouth 26, an intermediate spring wire portion 32 connecting the helical spring 31 and the limit stop 28, or wire feeler. The helical spring 31 also biases the wire 28 toward the left-hand margin (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the opening 21.

Starting with the postures illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, it can be seen that as a cigarette 41 is inserted through the conical mouth, and into the tube, the bottom, or burning end 42, of the cigarette engages with and is stopped by the inwardly projecting wire feeler 28. The heat of the burning end 42 is sensed instantaneously by the encompassing bimetallic walls of the tube and the tube starts to contract.

Contraction of the tube occurs by reason of the relative movement of the free or inner edge portion 15 of the tube relative to the fixed outer edge portion 16. In

other words, the inner edge Slides substantially tangentially within the outer, overlapping portion in a direction such as to sweep across and obscure both the outer window 21 in the strip 18 and the inner aperture 22 in the outer or overlap portion 16 of the tube. This sequence of events appears most clearly in FIGS. 1-6.

The results of this relative movement are two-fold. First, the tube contracts to a diameter such that the cigarette, and particularly the burning portion thereof, is encompassed and securely gripped by the tube. Second, the moving leading edge 20 of the inner edge portion 15, in sweeping across the registering openings 21 and 22, comes into engagement with the feeler 28, or limit stop Wire, camming or biasing the wire ahead of it and urging the wire 28 outwardly into the position shown, for example, in FIG. 6.

As can clearly be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the tip 51 of the feeler wire 28 projects through the opening 21 in the strip 18 but is prevented from extending into engagement with the cigarette by the obscuring inner edge portion 15 of the tube.

The close engagement of the metallic tube with the burning cigarette quickly extinguishes the glowing tobacco. This is quickly followed by cooling of the tube itself, with consequent expansion of the tube diameter.

As the tube expands, the movable edge portion 15 of the tube reverses the sequence shown in FIGS. 1-6 and, progressively, the outer opening 21 is uncovered, as well as the inner aperture 22.

Prior to the time, however, that the tip 51 of the wire feeler 28 is disengaged, or allowed to snap back into the interior of the tube, the tube has expanded to a diameter such that the cigarette is no longer clamped, but instead has been released and allowed to drop by gravity into any subjacent receptacle (not shown).

This results, in effect, in a time-lag or lost-motion arrangement, wherein the limit stop wire 28 is temporarily restrained from re-entering the chamber thus allowing the cigarette to drop away after being unclamped by the tube walls.

It is to be noted that as the obscuring portion 15 sweeps back so as to uncover the opening 22, the tip 51 of the feeler wire 28 is carried back toward the left-hand margin (see FIGS. 2 and 8) of the opening 21. The reason for this is that the helical spring 31 tends to urge the feeler wire in this left-hand direction and, also, the friction between the feeler tip 51 and the moving portion 15 carries the tip along as the moving portion 15 sweeps back toward the left or in a window uncovering direction.

Thus, it is not until the moving portion 15 has fully uncovered the openings 21 and 22 that the wire limit stop 28 can snap back into the interior of the chamber. Well before this time, as is explained above, the tube has expanded or opened sufiiciently to drop the cigarette.

Upon returning to the positions shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cycle is completed and the device is ready to receive and put out another cigarette.

It can therefore be seen that I have provided a relatively simple, yet quick-acting, compact and reliable device for extinguishing cigars and cigarettes.

What is claimed is:

1. A cigarette quenching device comprising:

(a) an elongated slit tube of bimetallic material, said tube having, when cool, a diameter greater than the diameter of a cigarette and when heated, a diameter slightly less than the diameter of a cigarette;

(b) means on said tube for temporarily limiting the longitudinal movement of a cigarette through said tube while said tube is cool; and

(c) means on said tube for deactivating said limit means as said tube is heated, said deactivating means being responsive to the contraction of said tube.

2. A cigarette quencher comprising:

(a) an elongated slit tube of bimetallic material movable between a first expanded position and a second contracted position in dependence upon the heat applied to said tube, said tube in said first position having a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of a cigarette and in said second position having a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of a cigarette; and,

(b) means on said tube and biased into the interior of said tube for temporarily limiting the movement of a burning cigarette inserted therein with said tube in said first position, said cigarette limiting means being capable of being biased out of said tube by the movement of said tube from said first position toward said second position, said cigarette limiting means being effective to re-enter the interior of said tube only after said tube has quenched a cigarette in said second position of said tube and said tube has cooled suificiently to expand to a diameter sufficient to allow withdrawal of a cigarette from said tube.

3. A cigarette quenching device comprising:

(a) an elongated strip forming a framework, said strip having an opening therein;

(b) an elongated tube-like member of bimetallic material, said member being slit longitudinally to provide a first edge and a second edge, said first edge being secured to said strip adjacent one side of said opening, said second edge being located adjacent the other side of said opening at ambient temperature and movable across said opening as said tube-like member is subjected to the temperature of a burning cigarette; and,

(c) means on said strip biased through said opening into interfering relation with a cigarette inserted into said tube-like member for temporarily limiting the movement of a cigarette therethrough, said limit means being also in interfering relation with said second edge of said tube-like member and being biased outwardly thereby as said second edge moves across said opening and into engagement with said limit means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,289 4/1935 Glomb 131-235 2,253,473 8/1941 Statelles 131-237 2,506,666 5/1950 Graham 131-256 2,659,377 11/1953 Fisher 131235 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Examiner. 

1. A CIGARETTE QUENCHING DEVICE COMPRISING: (A) AN ELONGATED SLIT TUBE OF BIMETALLIC MATERIAL, SAID TUBE HAVING, WHEN COOL, A DIAMETER GREATER THAN THE DIAMETER OF A CIGARETTE AND WHEN HEATED, A DIAMETER SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE DIAMETER OF A CIGARETTE; (B) MEANS ON SAID TUBE FOR TEMPORARILY LIMITING THE LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF A CIGARETTE THROUGH SAID TUBE WHILE SAID TUBE IS COOL; ANED (C) MEANS ON SAID TUBE FOR DEACTIVATING SAID LIMIT MEANS AS SAID TUBE IS HEATED, SAID DEACTIVATING MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE CONTRACTION OF SAID TUBE. 